Stamp Duty on a £600,000 House 2026
Quick answer: standard buyer £20,000. First-time buyer also £20,000 (relief lost above £500k). Second home £50,000. The first price point past the FTB cliff where FTB and standard pay identically.
By buyer type at £600,000
| Buyer type | England + NI (SDLT) | Scotland (LBTT) | Wales (LTT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard buyer | £20,000 | £33,350 | £25,500 |
| First-time buyer | £20,000 | £32,750 | £25,500 |
| Second home / additional property | £50,000 | £81,350 | £54,950 |
| Non-UK resident (standard) | £32,000 | £33,350 | £25,500 |
Scotland FTB saves £600 versus standard (LBTT FTB 0% to £175k instead of £145k). Scotland second-home figure includes 8% ADS on the full £600,000 (£48,000) plus standard LBTT.
How the £20,000 standard SDLT is built
| Band | Rate | Taxable in this band | Tax due |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 to £125,000 | 0% | £125,000 | £0 |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% | £125,000 | £2,500 |
| £250,001 to £600,000 | 5% | £350,000 | £17,500 |
| Total | £20,000 | ||
Effective rate: 3.33%. The 5% band now dominates: £17,500 of the £20,000 total. Every additional pound up to £925k continues to cost 5% until the 10% band starts.
The FTB cliff at £500,000 explained from the other side
At £500,000 a first-time buyer pays £10,000 (5% on the £200k slice above the £300k FTB nil-rate). At £500,001 the FTB pays £15,000 (standard rates apply with no relief), then continues at 5% per pound up to £925k. The £500,000 cliff costs £5,000 per pound at the moment of crossing. Above £500k there is no FTB benefit at all, so any FTB looking at a £600,000 house is in the same SDLT position as a home-mover or any other standard buyer.
The £500k cliff has been a feature of FTB relief since it was first introduced in November 2017 (Autumn Budget 2017). The ceiling was raised to £625k in September 2022 alongside the standard nil-rate threshold increase, then reverted to £500k on 1 April 2025. So the £500k cliff is the post-April-2025 cliff; for completions in the 30-month holiday window the cliff was at £625k.
The cliff effect creates a small but observable bunching of FTB purchases at exactly £500,000 in HMRC's annual SDLT statistics. See the £500k page for the cliff worked from the FTB side.
The £50,000 second-home figure
A £600,000 second home in England pays 5% on £125k (£6,250), 7% on £125k (£8,750), 10% on £350k (£35,000), totalling £50,000. The standard buyer pays £20,000 at the same price, so the surcharge alone is £30,000. The October 2024 increase from 3% to 5% added £12,000 to the surcharge (the old rate was £38,000 total).
For a buy-to-let landlord targeting 4% gross yield (£24,000 per year on a £600,000 property) and netting around 50-60% after costs and tax, the £30,000 surcharge takes around 2.5 to 3 years of net rental income to recoup. That is before financing costs (mortgage interest is no longer fully deductible for higher-rate taxpayers since the Section 24 phasing-out completed in April 2020). The economics increasingly point at limited-company structures for new BTL acquisitions, despite the same 5% surcharge.
See buy-to-let SDLT and companies and SPVs for the structuring options.
£600,000 across UK nations: Scotland penalises most
Scotland LBTT at £600,000 is £33,350, £13,350 more expensive than England SDLT. This is the inflection point where the LBTT system starts looking materially more expensive for higher-value purchases: the 10% LBTT band starts at £325,001 (versus £925,001 for England SDLT), so above ~£325k Scotland buyers pay 10% on every additional pound for a long stretch.
Wales LTT at £600,000 is £25,500 for a standard buyer, only £5,500 more than England. Wales smooths the curve more gently than Scotland because LTT bands at this price step from 5% to 7.5% rather than jumping to 10%. For high-value transactions above £400,000, Wales LTT increasingly looks like the most competitive UK regime for owner-occupiers.
For second-home buyers at £600k, the comparison flips again: Scotland is most expensive at £81,350 (heavy ADS), Wales adds its higher residential rates for £54,950, and England's £50,000 sits at the low end. See LBTT vs SDLT and LTT vs SDLT.
Mortgage and total-cost framing at £600,000
On a 75% LTV £600,000 purchase, a typical buyer needs £150,000 deposit, £20,000 SDLT, around £2,000 in legal and search fees, and £600-£1,200 for a homebuyer survey. Cash at completion is approximately £172,000-£173,000. A £450,000 mortgage at 5% over 25 years costs around £2,631 per month.
Adding the £20,000 SDLT to the mortgage instead (if the lender permits, taking the loan to roughly 78% LTV) would add about £117 per month, increasing the monthly payment to around £2,748. Most buyers fund SDLT from cash rather than mortgage because the LTV reduction unlocks better rates, and because £20k of mortgage interest at 5% costs more over 25 years than the alternative use of the cash in most scenarios.
See mortgage pre-approval calculator for affordability modelling.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is stamp duty on a £600,000 house in 2026?
Standard £20,000, FTB also £20,000 (relief lost above £500k), second home £50,000, non-UK resident £32,000. Scotland LBTT £33,350; Wales LTT £25,500.
Why do FTB and standard buyers pay the same at £600k?
FTB relief under Schedule 6ZA FA 2003 is forfeited above £500,000. The £500k cliff costs the FTB £5,000 for one pound over.
Is £600k expensive compared to Scotland or Wales?
Scotland LBTT is £33,350 (much more expensive). Wales LTT is £25,500 (slightly more expensive than England). At £600k Scotland penalises most heavily because its 10% band starts at £325k.
Is a £600k second home really worth £50,000 in stamp duty?
Yes. Takes 2.5-3 years of net BTL rental to recoup, before financing costs. October 2024 increase added £12k versus old 3% rate.
Could buying as a married couple help?
No. Spouses treated as single unit under paragraph 9 of Schedule 4ZA FA 2003 for the surcharge.
What about buying with parents on the title?
If parents already own a home, the whole £600k purchase pays the second-home surcharge (£50k not £20k) and loses FTB relief (already lost at this price anyway). A Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor mortgage keeps parents off the title and avoids the surcharge.
Related price points
Not tax advice. Always confirm with a qualified UK solicitor or chartered tax adviser before completing.